[tivert]

> When you say the wealthy own too much, you mean they own productive assets. They run companies. Sure there are some that just have a pile of cash sitting in a vault but that's rare.

> So if you take away their wealth you're transferring ownership and control from one group of people (who have managed and grown that productive asset) to another (randomly chosen). Naturally you would expect the productive assets to stop being so productive...

No. People who run companies very, very frequently do not own them outright or even have a controlling stake.

So even in an extremist toy model, where you "take away their wealth," you can still leave the existing manager in place or make the former owner a manager-employee.

You could even be very capitalist about it, and motivate the former owner to do a to do a good job as a manager, by making it clear that he will starve if he doesn't (that's how capitalism works for most people).

[bko]

You might have this idea that people just fall into great wealth through random happenstance and then just buy ETFs passively but that's not true. There are a lot fewer bill Gates types holding ETFs than there are 8 figure net worth guy that owns half a dozen car dealerships. Or doctors/lawyers that own their own practice. A lot of ceos also get paid huge amounts in stock. That's much more the norm

> Family businesses account for 64 percent of U.S. gross domestic product, generate 62 percent of the country's employment, and account for 78 percent of all new job creation.

https://www.familybusinesscenter.com/resources/family-busine...